Reunions
by Nakimochiku
Summary: The night before his highschool reunion, Arthur goes through his highschool memories, finding pictures of the boy he loved back then. France x UK, oneshot, enjoy.


Reunions

The only reason he was looking through his highschool photos was not to find pictures of that boy from his past, Arthur rationalized, but rather to relive old times. He had gotten an invitation to his highschool reunion about a week ago, but had pushed it to the back burner until the last minute because more important things were going on.

He was a successful business man now. He wondered if everyone else was the same as before, the same cheerful funny loving people he remembered.

So he found himself going through the old memories, four years of laughter and pain and drama. He looked through it all, wondering how he and all his friends could ever have been so stupid. The photo albums and year books were dusty from years of disuse, smelling of must and old paper.

He laughed at the very first picture in the book, it was Matthew, blushing and trying to hide his face behind his math text book. Alfred was holding him down for the picture, laughing. He had the ugliest perm Arthur had ever seen that first day of ninth grade. There were more after that, pictures of the three of them around campus. Before his eyes, he could see the moments passing, like an old reel of film.

"_Alfred! Alfred let me go! Please Arthur, don't take the picture, I know it's ugly. My mom made me get it." Alfred laughed, holding back Matthew's arms. The math text book clattered to the ground as Matthew struggled to hide his face._

"_C'mon Artie! Take the picture!" there was a click and a flash, and from the polaroid came a black paper. Arthur waved it around a bit before laughing at the picture that emerged. Matthew looked at it in horror while Alfred simply laughed uproariously._

"_I'm keeping it."_

The next few pictures saw more and more friends. Ludwig, frowning and strait backed next to Alfred and Gilbert after they had won the basketball game. Ludwig looked lanky and out of place in the uniform, a white 15 emblazoned on the front.

"_Hey, west. Smile a little bit. You look so drab next to awesome me!" Gilbert's arm slung over Ludwig's shoulder, the victory ball in his other hand._

"_Shut up east." Arthur smiled at the brothers, raising his camera again just as Alfred came barreling into the two._

"_Luddy! Gil!" On his face was a huge grin, and he posed for the picture too. His uniform also didn't match him, and the number 1 on it didn't help his ego. Arthur snapped the picture, waving about the paper that came from the camera._

The next one was Matthew and Feliks in their costumes after the drama presentation. They had been fairies, both covered in sparkles and fake jewels, wearing cheap fairy wings, but grinning, arms around each other. The costume fit Feliks perfectly, while Matthew looked girly and slightly embarrassed.

The pictures afterwards were more drama shows, club meetings, parties. Arthur laughed at all of them, at the pictures of Alfred and Im Yong Soo in santa hats. Roderich and Elizaveta at the school dance, slow dancing and staring at each other lovingly. He had heard they had gotten married. Feliciano and Lovino dressed as mimes for Halloween. Ivan smiling next to Toris, both holding awards in their hands.

Arthur froze as one more boy appeared in their pictures. The handsome face of Francis smiled back up at him, one arm around the highschool student he had been back then, nearly 15 years ago.

"_I swear to god you pervert, if you don't get your hand off my ass right now..." Arthur let the threat trail off, partly because he didn't know what else to say, and partly because he was too angry to say anything else. Francis just laughed softly, squeezing Arthur's ass affectionately, pulling them close together._

_Matthew took the picture just like that, before jumping into the picture as well, only to squeal and jump as Francis groped him. Before long all of their friends had gathered in a big group picture, grinning and happy._

Arthur scowled. That stupid Francis Bonnefoy, that pervert. All the feelings from back then rose and swirled in his stomach. The annoyance, the betrayal, the fondness, the love, the hate. He and Francis had a world together that was all their own. No one else could intrude when they were fighting, they were the only two people who mattered.

The next few pictures saw more of he and Francis. In some they were glaring, in others smiling warmly at one another. He knew the pictures of Francis were during the tenth and eleventh grade. His favourite picture, and he had never shown it to Francis, was the one he had caught of Francis when he wasn't looking.

_Spring wind ruffled the perfectly styled blonde ringlets. Francis hummed softly to himself as he sat in the grass, contemplating a dandelion. There was probably french poetry going on in his mind. But that didn't change how beautiful he looked. Arthur took the picture, reminding himself to get it developed strait away before hopping out at his on again off again boyfriend.... lover.... enemy... something._

"_Why do you have such a stupid expression on your face?!" He asked with a smirk, hand on one hip, pointing at him accusingly with the other._

_Francis gave him a relaxed smile, winking. "It is spring, Mon Cher. Spring always puts me in the mood for L'amour." Arthur wondered viciously how Francis could say such stupid (lovely) things without his tongue burning off._

Arthur frowned at the picture of Francis on that spring day. Was Francis still the same now? The same smooth talking beautiful pervert that he had been in love with? Was he coming to the reunion as well? Would he recognize Arthur, talk with him about the good times, whatever those had been?

He kept digging through the cupboard filled with photo albums, finding a VHS labeled 'Highschool, 1994'. Smiling, Arthur pushed it into the VCR, laughing as the first shot was the group of them all, Ivan holding the glittery sign that proudly proclaimed the date as May, 1994. The group scattered and started doing wacky things, Alfred jumping around and getting his foot stuck in a pot hole. The next fifteen minutes were spent with Kiku scolding Alfred for being stupid while everyone else laughed.

The next date was June, 1994. Arthur gasped as his own face came over the screen, frowning as he angrily told the camera man to _'get that bloody thing away from my face, you twit!'_. Francis' smooth laughter was heard, and the Frenchman maneuvered the camera so that it was looking at both of them. Arthur in the video crossed his arms over his chest, unimpressed, before his breath was stolen in a kiss.

July 1, 1994. Matthew's birthday. Everyone was singing horribly, cheering and drinking. They had stolen beer from Alfred's father, and no one regretted it. Matthew blew out the candles, all 18 of them, smiling widely at the camera before asking _'who wants cake?'_. The scenes of the party were stupid, funny times. Gilbert had gotten drunk, dancing around with the lamp shade over his head while Ludwig looked away as though the mad man wasn't his brother.

As the video kept playing, Arthur continued to look through the photo albums, finding more and more pictures of he and Francis kissing or hugging.

The sounds of the prom floated up to him. The first shot he saw was Yao, Meimei on one arm and Kiku on the other. They grinned and waved at the camera, before entering the school. All his old friends smiled and paraded past the camera, paired or grouped together.

Francis came on the screen, looking handsome in his suit as he smiled. _'Mon cher, what are you doing out here by yourself? Everyone is inside.'_ At some point inside, Matthew had taken his camera from him, winking when Francis asked him to dance. He remembered that night clearly, the stuffy gym, Francis' hands around his waist, the smell of the Frenchman's cologne, the tickle of his stubble against Arthur's cheek. The camera caught another of Francis' breath taking kisses as they swayed together to the music.

Arthur nodded to himself, certain of what he was about to do. The Reunion was the next day. He packed his camera into his bag. It was late, he had to catch some sleep.

66766

The Reunion was almost exactly what he had expected it to be. Everyone greeted everyone else warmly, catching up. Arthur and Matthew hugged when they saw each other. He had missed Matthew after so long. The other was still quiet and cute, his hair a little longer in smooth gold waves. But his blue eyes still held the innocent intelligence that Arthur remembered him for.

"What have you been doing with yourself?" He asked with a smile. Matthew's smile was the same tiny nervous one it had always been, and he glanced over at Alfred trading pretend blows with Gilbert shyly. Arthur grinned. "Good for you. I knew you'd be happy together."

"And you, Artie? What have the past 15 years been like for you?" Arthur shrugged nonchalantly, looking about the room. He wasn't there....

"This and that." He then admitted finally, before taking out his camera. Matthew laughed softly. Arthur with a camera was a fond memory, he always had one, was always capturing moments. Arthur snapped a photo of Matthew's smile.

"How could you start the party without _moi_?" A cheerful smooth voice asked, and Arthur would have been stupid if he couldn't discern who the voice belonged to. Arthur turned, staring into the face he had seen just last night, granted, a little younger, lacking some of the lines around the mouth. "Arthur?" Francis asked with a smile. "I recognized you instantly, those _sourcils_ of yours gave you away."

After 15 years, Francis still spoke as though they hadn't been separated a day. Arthur smirked condescendingly, lifting his chin. "Is that so, you pervert? I knew you instantly as well. After spending most of your life in this country, you still sound like a frog." Francis laughed, wrapping him up in a hug, kissing both his cheeks.

"I missed you, _Mon Cher_. It's good to see your angry face again." They kept talking about mundane things, each word laced with mocking and sarcasm. It was still the same as all those years ago. Neither of them had changed. "Look, Arthur, here's my number okay? Call me, make sure you call me." Expressive blue eyes stared hard at him, telling him wordlessly he'd break Francis' heart if he didn't do as told. He handed Arthur a white slip of paper as the party wound down, and everyone started going home.

Francis turned away to follow after the line of people. Arthur fiddled with his camera, indecision warring inside himself. "Francis, wait!" the Frenchman turned, a single brow raising elegantly in question. Arthur turned the camera on, one arm around Francis' shoulders, turning the camera to face them as they kissed, snapping the picture quickly. They smiled at each other, Francis laid a chaste second kiss over his mouth.

"See you around, _Mon Cher_." With a last seductive smile, Francis left. Arthur fingered the slip of paper in his pocket and smiled as well.

"Yea. See you around."

Owari


End file.
